The Upper Berbice communities of Kwakwani and Coomacka in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) are presently experiencing intense flooding. Following heavy rainfall which lasted for a few hours on Tuesday, several communities including Lamp Island were under water. This area, in particular, is prone to severe flooding and has led to regional officials calling for residents to evacuate in times past. In response to the situation, Director General of the Civil Defence Commission (CDC), Colonel Kester Craig said the agency was deploying a damage assessment team along with cleaning supplies to Lamp Island on Wednesday morning. He explained that it was reported by Overseer Clasissa Kurt that the area was flooded, with the water being three feet high. He further noted that several households in the community were affected.
Sections of Kwakwani and Coomacka in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) were inundated
Just recently, several homes at Coomacka Mines were flooded as two culverts and a dam reportedly overtopped in the community following heavy rainfall. The situation which occurred following over an hour of intense rainfall resulted in damages to the community’s main access road as well as damages to over 30 residents’ yards and homes.
Chairman of the Coomacka Community Development Council (CDC) Dexter Harding had indicated that $48 million was spent on the dam which was done several months ago.
Harding noted that a subsequent investigation revealed that the multimillion-dollar dam which was constructed through the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) was incomplete and, therefore, could not have withstood the intensity of the flow, resulting in the flood.
Residents had also expressed concerns following the flood, noting that parts of the dam had already started to break away. In the aftermath, sections of the community, including its main access road, were partially eroded. Harding said the contractor had been contacted once again to rectify the eroded area of the dam and to complete the job.
He stressed that additional tubings were also expected to be placed inside the dam so it could withstand the intensity of the flow of water.
Residents have also expressed concerns that water flow from a bauxite mining pit during high-intensity rains has led to issues with culverts, which they noted is unable to take off the level of water pressure. This, they indicated, leads to overtopping on the roadway which results in flooding and severe infrastructural and residential damages.
Following the flood, excavators were also dispatched to Coomacka to clear drains.
The Coomacka community has suffered tremendous floods and erosion in the past which has prompted intervention both at the regional and national levels.
In January of last year, engineers attached to the NDIA visited the community to brainstorm effective methods of dealing with the situation. As a result of severe erosion, more than half of the community’s section of the river was deemed impassible with residents being affected due to intense flooding. (G13)
